Cinderella’s Closet, a dream come true program at Monticello High School that makes it possible for young women throughout Central Virginia to purchase dresses, gowns and accessories at modest prices, will unveil their newest offerings this season on Friday, March 22. The sale of more than 200 new and gently used premier special event and formal dress wear will debut at the school from 4 until 6 p.m. The sale will continue the next day, Saturday, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Online registration is now open for the sixth annual Fine Arts Academy, which will offer music, theater, visual arts, and creative writing camps for rising seventh through 12th grade students this summer. Program activities run from Monday, July 8, through Friday, July 12, at Albemarle High School.

Kindergarten is where the fun begins! Albemarle County elementary schools will host Kindergarten Registration on Wednesday, March 20. Kindergarten Registration is an opportunity for parents to receive assistance with the enrollment process, present required documentation, and learn more about our kindergarten program. For more information, call 434-296-5820. Para asistencia bilingüe, llame 434-296-6517.

Albemarle County Public Schools Superintendent, Dr. Matthew Haas, said today that symbols, lettering or insignia of organizations or groups associated with white supremacy, racial hatred, or violence are not permitted in schools. This includes, but it is not limited to, such representations that support or promote the Ku Klux Klan, the Confederacy, Neo-Nazism, or other hate groups.

Following a series of upcoming budget work sessions by the Board of Supervisors, the Board will hold a public hearing on the county’s proposed budget for 2019-20, including schools, on April 9. Both the Board of Supervisors and the School Board are expected to formally adopt budgets later in the month.

Henley seventh grader, Layla Bouber, successfully defended her title as the Spelling Bee Champion for Albemarle County Public Schools at the school division’s 14th annual Spelling Bee. For the fourth consecutive year, Layla qualified to represent the county in the Daily Progress Regional Spelling Bee, which will take place on Saturday, March 9, beginning at 10 a.m. at Albemarle High School.

Citing the interconnections between schools, business and service organizations, and community residents, Albemarle County Public Schools Superintendent, Dr. Matthew Haas, presented his 2019-20 funding request to the School Board last evening.

At its annual organizational meeting this month, the Albemarle County School Board selected its at-large member, Jonno Alcaro as the 2019 Board Chair. Graham Paige, who represents the Samuel Miller District on the Board, is the new Vice Chair. Alcaro succeeds Dr. Kate Acuff, who served three years as the Board Chair and will continue to serve on the Board as its Jack Jouett District representative. The Board also decided upon committee assignments for the new year. The Board’s next meeting is Thursday at 6:30 p.m. in the county office building on McIntire Road to receive Superintendent Dr. Matthew Haas’ funding request for the 2019-20 school year. For all meeting updates, visit:

In 2013, Jack Jouett Middle School became one of the few schools in the world to earn select status for the quality and effectiveness of its academic skills and college preparation program, AVID (Advancement via Individual Determination). Over 90 percent of AVID students are accepted into four-year colleges and often are the first in their family to attend college. As one of the most powerful programs for closing achievement gaps, AVID is in more than 6,000 schools around the world, serving over two million students. Only 198 of these schools earn demonstration status as model programs. Recently, Jouett’s revalidation as a demonstration school was the subject of local news broadcasts.

For the second straight year, attracting and retaining high-quality teachers is the top goal for those Albemarle County residents who responded to the school division’s annual budget survey. The online survey attracted more than 4,500 responses to a question about the most important objectives for the 2019-20 school year budget.

Nominations are now open for the 2018-2019 Golden Apple Awards, a program designed to honor outstanding teachers in public and private schools in Albemarle County and Charlottesville City. One winner is selected from each school, and eight winners also will receive a $1,000 Golden Apple Grant, which can be used for classroom materials or to support the recipient’s professional development.

Albemarle County Public Schools graduates once again turned in strong performances on the College Board’s Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), with 2018 scores surpassing both state and national averages on the reading, writing and mathematics tests and on the Board’s college readiness benchmark.

The Superintendent of Albemarle County Public Schools, Dr. Matthew Haas, said today that, following a nationwide search, Dr. Christine Diggs has been appointed as the division’s new Chief Technology Officer. Dr. Diggs said she long has been impressed by the innovative programming in Albemarle County Public Schools and by the opportunities she has had to learn more about the division from collaborating with its technology professionals at national conferences.

The on-time graduation rate for Albemarle County Public Schools once again exceeded the statewide rate in Virginia, according to a report issued this week by the state department of education. An on-time graduation means that a student completed his or her high school studies within a four-year period.

Albemarle County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Matthew Haas announced today that Dr. Bernard Hairston, the school division’s Chief of Community Engagement, has been appointed Assistant Superintendent for School Community Empowerment. In his new role, Dr. Hairston will be responsible for expanding the participation and input of students, teachers, administrators, staff, and community partners in developing school division policies, programs, and budget initiatives to meet School Board priorities.

Albemarle County Public Schools Superintendent, Dr. Matthew Haas, said today that both the county and city public school divisions can be a regional and perhaps national model for ensuring that “racism and discrimination will find no home in our school communities.”

A $50,000 grant from the Virginia Department of Education will fund a new summer program designed to expand opportunities for students at the Charlottesville Albemarle Technical Education Center (CATEC) to earn paid apprenticeships while they also are earning academic and professional certification credits.

Albemarle County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Matthew Haas met with nearly all of the school division’s 1,300 teachers on August 14, the first time in 20 years such a meeting has taken place. Noting that the school division recently was ranked in the top two percent of all school divisions in the nation, Dr. Haas talked about the impact teachers have on the academic achievement of students.